Fake ancients...how severe the problem?

291fifth

I originally collected Roman coins in the 1981-1988 period. As a result, I have a reasonably good feel for the "fabric" of the genuine silver and bronze issues. Just looking thru the listings on eBay I am now seeing large numbers of named reproductions. I am also seeing several that are offered as genuine that, to my eye, look to be fakes. Overgrading was always a problem with this series (and the overgrading seems much worse today than in the 80's) but now rampant fakery seems to be a problem as well. Am I correct in my observations?

coachleonard

I see it as a problem, but no more so (maybe even much less so) than fakes of Colonial/Early American coins. If you have a
good eye for spotting fakes, I'd say you're in pretty good shape, since most fakes can be spotted right off the bat. It's
the super high grade, super nicely struck ancients that would cause me worry-- stuff like sharply-struck Greek silver, stuff that
would be worth a counterfeiter's time. I see a few, but not a LOT, of ancient coins on ebay sold as genuine that i would suspect
as fake.

CIVITAS

<< <i>Just looking thru the listings on eBay I am now seeing large numbers of named reproductions. I am also seeing several that are offered as genuine that, to my eye, look to be fakes. Overgrading was always a problem with this series (and the overgrading seems much worse today than in the 80's) but now rampant fakery seems to be a problem as well. Am I correct in my observations? >>



You are correct in your observations that eBay has a large problem with over graded junk and a fair number of fakes that keep showing up (mainly from a counterfeiting ring in Toronto, Canada). However, this is not a problem at large in the ancient coin market.

To protect yourself:

1. Buy from a reputable dealer with a guarantee of authenticity. CNG, Harlan J. Berk, Atlantis, Barry P. Murphy, and yes.... even us, are good examples of reputable dealers. Most of these dealers don't sell a whole lot of stuff on eBay because good coins get drowned in the waves of trash that go up every day on eBay. Check http://www.vcoins.com for the listings of all these dealers.

2. Through the process of buying from reputable dealers and your own study, learn what genuine coins are supposed to look like. Sounds like you already have a pretty good start. Get a few books. Classical Deception by Wayne Sayles is a good beginning for general history on fakes. I think we've got copies for about $15.00.

3. Subscribe to the Yahoo Group: "Moneta-L" Information about the Toronto ring shows up frequently. Also, representatives from a number of the dealers I mentioned above subscribe and post somewhat regularly to that group. (CNG may be the exception to that).